"L'Art de la Guerre Basing Question" Topic

(Disclaimer: I wanted to ask this on the L'Art forum but could not register due to answering incorrectly the "anti-spam" question "What is the last color of the French flag?" Answers: "Red", "White", and "Blue" are all incorrect.)

Question: Rulebook calls for 15mm heavy infantry, for example, to be based 4 figs on a 40x15 base. Apparently, however, 2 bases comprise a single unit, placed one directly behind the other. They are inseparable during play.

Question 1: So, before I start basing my heavies 8 figs in 2 ranks on 40x30 bases (making a single unit), is there some benefit I'm missing to basing them 2 @ 40x15?

Thanks!

No benefit within AdlG itself but using 40x15 will give you more flexibility to use your figures with other rule sets.
40x15 is the DBA/DBMM basing size and has been widely adopted by other rule writers to avoid the potential barrier of rebasing.
On further thought, there is actually one possible advantage in AdlG of going 40x15 v 40x30. That would be that you could use one 40x15 stand to represent the front ranks of a mixed unit (e.g. spear + bow, etc) IF they are the right figures and IF you are using the right army list.
Hope you enjoy the rules – I do
Doug

Thanks, Fantasque. That makes sense now.

I have never really understood the need for people to go running and rebasing their figures for whichever ruleset seems to be the flavour of the month to only end up having to rebase, yet again, for another!

Why not just individually base the figures and then place the individual figures onto movement trays of the various base size recommendations?

Hi,

I've got quite few 15mm figs on 40mm x 40mm bases now. You can play DBA perfectly well with it (looks better IMO) and I suspect LADG.

For DBMM it allows double basing, so it works for that rule set as well for the most part (mainly spear and warband).

Cheers,
JohnG

individual basing and movement trays works for 25mm and up but not for 15mm or below IMO

Looking through the book carefully will show the option to base all infantry except lights as double bases 40mm deep.

This works nicely for depicting pikemen in 3 rows and gives a fighting chance of getting some manufacturers larger or more animated figures on such a base.

The only reason not to double base apart from using other rule sets is in some armies the option to use bow and spear or bow and swordsmen as separately deployed troop types as an alternative to mixed units. A sabot base does nicely here.

Most are still using mounted troops on 30mm depth bases but there's nothing in the rules to stop anyone using them on matching 40mm depth bases and indeed the rulebook has depictions as such.

What Tarantella said. ;)

The other thing about 40mm bases for cavalry is that there are quite a few horses out there that are over 30mm long tip to tip which in practice means figure clashing.

Lack of width for bulkier models means mounting at a angle all the figures to avoid the clash.

There are also many horse archer poses which basing in multiples leaves the rider shooting the chap to his left in the ear. These poses date to a time where flattish rider casts were the norm and cantabrian circles with single figures (also with javelins) were quite popular too.

I look for forward firing horse archers preferentially these days as well as chariot and elephant models that comfortably fit a 40 x 40 base.